Chapter 30

"It wasn't intentional."

Tang Youning sobbed, voice thick with tears.

At that moment, riot-geared SWAT teams cordoned off the area around the shredder's control panel with yellow tape, efficiently cuffing over thirty suspects and escorting them into police vans, submachine guns and riot shields at the ready.

Zhao Yang stared in shock as the pink-haired Alpha in front of him wiped his tears with his sleeve, bawling uncontrollably. "I didn’t know that dumbass Tang Xinrong would dare go this far! I’ll have Grandpa hire the best lawyer to make sure he dies in prison! I really didn’t mean for this to happen, I’m sorry, senior—"

For a second, everyone was at a loss. If memory served, Tang Xinrong was still Tang Youning’s grandfather’s own son, right? Is this how rich people roll?

Tang Youning crouched beside his bodyguard, still weeping uncontrollably. The sight of Xu Changying lying in Xia Qing’s arms, his nose packed with gauze to stop the bleeding, completely shattered his composure. His apologies tumbled out in a mess—from "I’m sorry" to "Senior, does it hurt a lot?"—without pause.

Every time Zhao Yang tried to interject, he was cut off by the snot-nosed rich kid. Finally, he snapped, "Can this pink freak calm down? Who the hell even are you? This is so bizarre—Xu Changying, you’re a trade school grad from North America, where’d you get a junior like this?"

Yu Mei tugged at Zhao Yang’s sleeve, signaling that Tang’s bodyguards were still standing nearby. But Zhao Yang, too furious to care, glared fiercely at Tang Youning.

Xu Changying, still tilted back, tried to speak but saw Xia Qing’s brow furrow slightly.

With a mouthful of blood he couldn’t spit out or swallow, and unable to see anyone but Xia Qing in his current position, Xu Changying resorted to gesturing with his right hand.

Zhao Yang’s worry and lingering fear had been thoroughly disrupted by Tang Youning’s antics. He scowled at Xu Changying’s erratic hand movements. "What, you freestyling now? Just stay still!"

Unexpectedly, Li Jiali suddenly said, "He said this is his high school junior."

Yu Mei and Qi Feng exclaimed in unison, "Seriously?"

Li Jiali, pressing gauze against a long gash on Xu Changying’s thigh to stop the bleeding, shot a look at her fidgeting partner. "We learned some sign language on a Vietnam job. Oh, and Xu also said Tang is your junior too, Officer Zhao."

Qi Feng declared firmly, "No way. By the time I graduated, our school only had two High-ranking Alphas!"

Zhao Yang eyed Tang Youning skeptically. "And your family’s based in Hong Kong—how could you have attended our high school? Hey, how do you even know Xu Changying?"

Tang Youning, mid-sob, was abruptly cut off by Zhao Yang’s impatient questioning. He whipped his head around, glaring tearfully. "Ugh, do you live under a rock? I’m an illegitimate son!"

Zhao Yang was left speechless, while Tang Youning turned his anger toward his bodyguard. "I told you to call an ambulance forever ago! Why isn’t it here yet?"

The bodyguard bowed his head. "Mr. Tang, we’ve already contacted them. They’ll be here soon."

A hand patted Tang Youning lightly—it was Xu Changying’s.

Instantly, Tang Youning’s furious expression softened, and he resumed sniffling and wiping his tears. Just then, Shao Qiaoqiao and another Tang family bodyguard rushed in with medical personnel. "Professor Xia, Yang-ge, the ambulance is here!"

Xu Changying’s nose had finally stopped bleeding after being packed with fresh gauze, though his bloody face and cotton-stuffed nose made him look both horrifying and absurd. As the medics unfolded a stretcher beside him, Xia Qing moved to lift him, but Xu Changying let out a couple of frantic noises and gestured again with his right hand.

"Xu’s asking if Secretary Chen is on the ambulance," Li Jiali translated. "He also says his injuries aren’t serious and he can walk."

The Tang family bodyguard replied, "There are three ambulances on scene. Secretary Chen and Secretary Yao have already been loaded up."

Zhao Yang and a nearby doctor lifted Xu Changying’s legs. "Alright, let’s get you to the hospital. The only part of you that’s hard is your mouth—hell, even that’s wrecked now."

Just before being wheeled into the ambulance, Xu Changying spat out a mouthful of blood and suddenly spoke. "Tang Youning, go back and give your statement."

Tang Youning, who had been about to climb into the ambulance, froze in disbelief. "Why?!"

Zhao Yang frowned. "What do you mean, why? You were involved in the incident today, and you’re Tang Xinrong’s relative. You have to be investigated."

Tang Youning shrieked indignantly, "I don’t even know who Tang Xinrong is!"

Shao Qiaoqiao comforted from the side, "President Tang, Officer Xu will be fine. Professor Xia is accompanying him."

Her attempt at comfort only aggravated Tang Youning. He glared at Xia Qing, who sat silently in the ambulance gazing at Xu Zhangying. Though furious, Tang didn’t dare climb into the vehicle and could only watch helplessly as the doors were shut by the paramedics.

Inside the ambulance, the paramedics quickly examined Xu Zhangying and found his nasal bone fractured and the soft tissues in his mouth severely bruised, making first aid challenging. They stuffed a large gauze pad into his mouth to stop the bleeding. While Xu’s injuries weren’t life-threatening, a rebar fragment had pierced his left upper arm, complicating treatment, and a four-inch gash ran down his left thigh—fortunately missing the artery.

Noticing Xu’s pale, ashen complexion, a paramedic asked Xia Qing, "Next of kin, what’s the patient’s secondary gender and blood type? Any drug allergies or medical history?"

Xia Qing hesitated for a moment before Xu Zhangying extended his right hand and drew an "A" in the blood on Xia’s palm.

Xia Qing turned to the doctor and said, "Type A blood, secondary gender: beta."

The doctor nodded. "Noted. Patient, are you in severe pain? I’ll give you some anesthetic. Hang in there."

Xu Zhangying traced two more strokes on Xia Qing’s palm. Realizing what he’d written, Xia Qing immediately looked up at Xu’s face—his nostrils and mouth packed with gauze—and Xu weakly blinked at him.

Xia Qing stopped the doctor preparing the anesthetic. "No need. He’s resistant to anesthetics."

As Xu tried to withdraw his hand, Xia Qing gripped it tightly. Xu tilted his head slightly and saw Xia staring down at their clasped hands.

By the time the ambulance reached the nearest hospital, medical staff were already waiting. Xu Zhangying was swiftly wheeled into the emergency room, where a doctor grabbed scissors and asked briskly, "We’ll cut the clothes off, alright?"

Xu flashed a thumbs-up. The public hospital team worked with practiced efficiency—in one swift motion, his left arm and thigh were exposed to the cold air.

Four or five doctors surrounded Xu for emergency treatment. After administering hemostatic injections, they flushed his wounds with saline. The doctor frowned at the gash on Xu’s tongue. "This needs stitches. His nose is broken too—we’ll need a splint."

Xu received over twenty stitches each on his shoulder and thigh. Without anesthesia, even in his haze of pain, he couldn’t find respite, repeatedly jolted awake by sharp pain.

In his haze, he saw Xia Qing standing by the door, watching him intently. After what felt like an eternity, a doctor announced, "The ENT specialist is here for the procedure. Let’s change his clothes."

Xu Zhangying’s eyes snapped open, and he suddenly struggled. Xia Qing, who’d been staring at him, moved in swiftly, but Xu pointed at him and said, "Xia Qing, you leave first!"

The doctor scolded, "Hey, don’t move! Your stitches just closed!"

Xia Qing replied immediately, "Alright, I’ll go." He turned and walked out of the treatment room.

A nurse chuckled as she snipped away the remaining fabric. "You’re not shy around a bunch of women but hurry to shoo the good-looking one out? What's that about?"

As she gently peeled back Xu’s blood-soaked collar, the lattice of brutal scars on the back of his neck were exposed.

"Ah—!" The nurse gasped in shock.

The patient on the operating table raised a finger to his lips and smiled, signaling for her to keep quiet.

Outside the treatment room, Xia Qing was met by his secretaries and assistant. Qi, from his office at Xing’an's headquarters, had been urgently dispatched and reported, "President Xia, the ENT chief from Provincial First Hospital is prepping in the OR. Chairman Lin and Mr. Lin have also heard the news and asked you to return."

Xia Qing replied, "Understood. I can’t leave."

Qi nodded. "I’ll inform them."

Assistant Yu, from Xia’s lab and more familiar with him, said, "President Xia, I brought fresh clothes for you and Mr. Xu. Would you like to change?"

Xia Qing turned to him, noticing Yu’s cautious expression, then finally looked down at himself—his light-colored shirt and trousers were drenched in blood.

For the first time, Yu saw a faint crack in the typically unflappable alpha’s demeanor, revealing indescribable, complex emotions.

Suturing a tongue without anesthesia could rank among the world’s worst tortures, making the subsequent nasal fracture reduction feel almost bearable. The moment the surgeon declared him stabilized, Xu Zhangying lost consciousness.

Yet his unconsciousness was fitful. His neck felt cold and bare, as if he’d forgotten to wear a shirt in public—leaving his scars exposed for all to see, including Xia Qing.

When he was half-awake in a daze, he suddenly found himself in a pitch-black cargo hold surrounded by plywood crates and bubble wrap. He could even smell the pungent formaldehyde from cheap hot-melt glue. Groping around, his hand suddenly brushed against something stiff and icy—a hand. Only then did he realize he was inside the truck that had nearly been sent for disposal, lying right beside the missing living statues #256 and #372.

He felt through the plastic wrapping before tearing it open and shining a flashlight on the face of the statue lying motionless in the dark. It was—

Xu Zhangying opened his eyes and locked gazes with a middle-aged woman in pink-yellow nursing attire, who was wiping the gaps between his fingers with a warm towel.

Xu Zhangying recognized her uniform—she worked at the Tang family hospital. Tang Youning, contrary to his outwardly manic demeanor, was obsessively meticulous and had long anticipated Xu Zhangying’s concerns.

Xu Zhangying glanced down at his hospital gown, and the nurse promptly said, “Mr. Xu, I was the one who changed your clothes.”

Xu Zhangying nodded wearily but with relief.

The door opened softly, and Xia Qing walked in dressed in a black suit. After a full night’s sleep, Xu Zhangying’s tongue no longer hurt, but his nose was starting to throb. He called out, “Xia Qing.”

The nurse gathered the towel and basin before dipping her head and slipping out. Xia Qing sat by his bedside, gently tucking his hand back under the blanket and murmuring, “It’s better not to speak for now.”

Xu Zhangying thought to himself that since Xia Qing barely talks as it is, it’d be creepy as hell if he couldn’t speak either.

Perhaps because of his fair complexion or pretty-boy looks, Xia Qing looked even younger in the all-black suit. As he lowered his head, his bangs fell slightly over his eyes, making him resemble a college student dressed formally to receive a scholarship.

“Did Li Xuyang and Li Jiayu confess?” Xu Zhangying ignored the advice and whispered.

Xia Qing, likely already familiar with his stubbornness, didn’t press further and instead recounted the events of the past dozen or so hours.

Li Xuyang adamantly denied knowing anything, claiming he had only followed Li Jiayu’s instructions to accompany Tang Xinrong to the metal processing plant to prevent outsiders from causing trouble. The police indeed lacked evidence to prove his involvement in the May 23rd case, so before Li Xuyang’s father, Li Jiahao, and stepmother, Lin Hanshan, could demand his release, they interrogated him about “A Feng” and Zhao Lanyue.

Li Xuyang remembered Zhao Lanyue and A Feng but claimed he wasn’t close to Zhao Lanyue. In his memory, she had excellent grades but came from an ordinary family, placing her outside his social circle. Some trust-fund brats had even placed bets on chasing her, but nothing came of it. By his second year of high school, he had started mingling with wealthy social circles and learned about figures like “snakeheads”—basically high-end pimps. A Feng was one such snakehead. Around that time, Zhao Lanyue’s personality suddenly changed, and she began frequenting these circles. However, Li Xuyang insisted that strict family supervision had kept him from truly participating.

But Li Xuyang eventually provided a name—this stepbrother of Xia Qing’s was practically his opposite, a pro at throwing fits and stabbing backs alike. Li Xuyang said the snakehead A Feng was closest to Tang Yingyun, Tang Xinrong’s son, who was two years older than Li Xuyang. Because Tang Yingyun attended university on the mainland, he had become a prominent figure in the rich kids’ scene at the time.

From this point on, Li Xuyang was taken back by the Li family, and the valuable information he provided ended here.

When it came to Tang Xinrong, after an entire night of interrogation, this old fox proved to be much more difficult to handle than Li Xuyang. He clammed up and refused to budge, insisting that he had no idea what the truck was about when asked why he had led people to prevent the police from searching it. He claimed that due to his good relationship with Li Jiayu, he merely helped his friend teach some intruders a lesson. As for why he killed Xia Qing along with his subordinates and what the No. 3 order was, he denied any knowledge of such an order, stating that he had only acted out of momentary anger to discipline Xia Qing, pushing him and causing him to fall. Little did he know that the man in black had misunderstood and used lethal force.

The police obtained his phone and found a new message in the inbox titled: CA612-3. Just as they were about to click to read the content, the phone screen suddenly turned blood red and began to play a terrifying and bloody video of decapitations, nearly scaring the tech officer Shao Qiaqiao out of her wits.

It was clear that this was a virus attached to the message. Phone viruses were already rare, and before Shao Qiaqiao and her team could process it, the phone's motherboard burned out due to overload—indicating that Tang Xinrong's phone had been specially modified to receive such special messages even within the range of signal jammers.

Now, they didn't know what the message content was, who sent it, or what Tang Xinrong's motive for the crime was.

Clearly, Tang Xinrong received the CA612-3 message and then conspired with his confidants to kill Xia Qing. However, why he wanted to kill Xia Qing and why he followed the message so obediently remained a mystery to the police.

Although Tang Xinrong's influence was not as great as that of Tang Youning or other prominent members of the Tang family, his assets were not inferior to those of Li Jiayu, and perhaps even surpassed them due to his status as a member of the Tang family. Therefore, what could such a wealthy person from high society be afraid of, to commit a crime in broad daylight?

Tang Xinrong's bodyguard, Zhong Heping, had been his personal secretary for over twenty years, almost inseparable from him. However, because he was shot in the shoulder by Zhao Yang and then slammed against the wall by Qi Feng, he was still unconscious and thus could not be interrogated.

Given the current situation, the conclusions drawn were: one, Tang Xinrong and Zhong Heping must have been aware of the 523 major case; two, the organization behind the 523 living art piece incident was vast, with its members likely spread throughout influential families like the Tangs and Lis, making it a despicable criminal act orchestrated by the upper class.

After Xu Changying heard the general situation, he had made his judgment. He looked at Xia Qing and said knowingly, "Numbers 256 and 327 are gone, right?"

Xia Qing's eyes darkened slightly as he nodded, "Yes, Captain Yan opened the truck yesterday afternoon, and only these two exhibits were missing. The police are currently investigating the surveillance network of the industrial park."

Xu Changying closed his eyes slightly and said, "That won't help much. We should investigate who tampered with the surveillance instead."

Xia Qing replied, "We've already checked. It was done by Li Jiayu's secretary. The Major Crime Unit and the Provincial Public Security Department are looking for Li Jiayu."

A warm hand gently touched Xu Changying's forehead, and Xia Qing continued, "You still have a slight fever. I'll go talk to the doctor."

Xu Changying opened his eyes again and smiled, "I'm naturally hot-tempered; this is my normal body temperature. Haven't you rested at all? Go back."

Xia Qing stared at his face for a while without answering, then said, "Doctor Tang Youning called to emphasize that you can't use corticosteroids for pain relief, so the hospital has switched you to antihistamines. You might feel more drowsy now, but your tongue will hurt less. You can eat some light food this afternoon."

Xu Changying's consciousness was starting to blur, and he couldn't quite hear what Xia Qing was saying, but he nodded, "I understand."

After a long while, just before he drifted off to sleep, he felt the edge of his blanket being tucked around him.